Tag Archives: Islamic State

06/02/2016World NewsComments Off on Islamic State faces major assaults on two fronts in Iraq, Syria

Islamic State insurgents faced major assaults on two fronts in both Iraq and Syria on Wednesday in what could prove to be some of the biggest operations to roll back their caliphate since they proclaimed it in 2014. In Syria, U.S.-backed militia with thousands of Arab and Kurdish fighters were …

06/01/2016World NewsComments Off on Fear for civilians as Islamic State halts Iraqi army at gates of Falluja

Islamic State fighters halted an Iraqi army assault on the city of Falluja with a counter-attack at its southern gates on Tuesday, while the United Nations warned of peril for civilians trapped in the city and used by militants as human shields. The Iraqi army’s assault on Falluja has begun …

05/25/2016World NewsComments Off on U.S.-backed Syrian alliance launches new attack near Islamic State capital

A U.S.-backed alliance of Syrian militias launched a new offensive against Islamic State fighters near their de facto capital of Raqqa city on Tuesday, a monitoring group and an official said. The Syria Democratic Forces (SDF) alliance is the main Syrian partner for the U.S.-led alliance battling the Islamic State …

05/16/2016World NewsComments Off on Islamic State attacks gas plant north of Baghdad, killing 11

An Islamic State attack on a state-run gas plant in Baghdad’s northern outskirts on Sunday killed at least 11 people, including policemen, and forced two power stations it supplied to suspend electricity production. A suicide car bomb went off at the entrance of the facility in Taji at around 0600 …

05/02/2016World NewsComments Off on Islamic State boosts attacks in response to territorial losses: IHS

Islamic State attacks have increased this year, particularly in Iraq and Syria as the group responds to substantial territorial losses, a U.S.-based analysis firm IHS said on Sunday. There were 891 attacks during the first quarter of 2016 in neighbors Iraq and Syria, more than in any three-month period since …

04/13/2016World NewsComments Off on U.S. military says using cyber capabilities against Islamic State

The U.S. military is dropping “cyber bombs” on Islamic State for the first time as part of a stepped-up coordinated effort that has put increasing pressure on the militant group, Deputy Defense Secretary Robert Work said on Tuesday. “Those guys are under enormous pressure. Every time we have gone after …

04/04/2016World NewsComments Off on Syrian forces seize Islamic State-held town near Palmyra

Syrian and allied forces backed by Russian air strikes drove Islamic State militants out of the town of al-Qaryatain on Sunday after encircling it over the past few days, Syria’s military command said. Surrounded by hills, al-Qaryatain is 100 km (60 miles) west of the ancient city of Palmyra, which …

03/23/2016World NewsComments Off on Belgians hunt Islamic State suspect after blasts kill 30

Belgian police are hunting an Islamic State suspect seen with two supposed suicide bombers shortly before they struck Brussels Airport in the first of two attacks that also hit the city’s metro, killing at least 30 and wounding over 200. The blasts on Tuesday claimed by the Syrian-based militants four …